Which programming language should be taught in South African high schools?

Swa said:
I don't think elaboration on basic terminology is required. Is C# used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Java used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Python used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is C/C++ used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes. Is Delphi used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes.
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Excellent troll. However, this is exact what our Department of Education think, and they ain't trolling.
 
Hamster said:
Ok now I'm really done with this thread.
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hey stop being offensive about Delphi
harping on about its *** implementations for processor threading; lack of support for most operating systems, web platform development, iOS ...
 
MartinMorrison said:
Excellent troll. However, this is exact what our Department of Education think, and they ain't trolling.
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not sure that he is trolling

and the DoE have more nefarious reasons to support the continued cockup of Delphi
 
LOL @ support and iOS in the same sentence. The OS with it's own version of Objective C. Now I know not serious.
 
Swa said:
LOL @ support and iOS in the same sentence. The OS with it's own version of Objective C. Now I know not serious.
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what Delphi isn't supportive of cross platform OS development
and Embarcadero (who are the proprietary house in command of Delphi) have managed to bludgeon their RAD toolchains iOS implementation. Considering how important iOS is the BYOD enterprise space where Embarcadero has posited their "key strengths" the two problems really do make the case for Delphi quite negligible.
 
The language isn't imported, it's the thought process behind it. Also, different platforms require different language sets.

There will always be a new language on the horizon, but they are all mostly object orientated or implement some form of MVC. If you get that down, you can pretty much do anything.
 
paddy_za said:
I agree with this. With resources such as the Microsoft Virtual Academy and all the tools that form part of that ecosystem, kids could be producing fully fledged web applications (for example) before they even get to varsity. What spreadsheet software do schools use? Excel. Presentations? PowerPoint. Seems obvious that Visual Studio would be the IDE of choice.

/Flame suite on
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/thread
 
Swa said:
I don't think elaboration on basic terminology is required. Is C# used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Java used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Python used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is C/C++ used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes. Is Delphi used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes.
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I take it you aren't a programmer? Or work anywhere near the software development field?

Can you please explain to us these "fields of programming" where Delphi is used where the other languages aren't?
 
Start with Javascript. You can write it anywhere, run it anywhere.

Then move on to whatever language is flavour of the decade so that they have an understanding of what is required after school.
 
I work in an environment that has all levels.

Start with C, that is what I started with, and enabled me to pick up C#, C++, Java and Python quite quickly.
Java, especially with the Android context, is the future.
 
Swa said:
I don't think elaboration on basic terminology is required. Is C# used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Java used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is Python used extensively in most fields of programming? No. Is C/C++ used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes. Is Delphi used extensively in most fields of programming? Yes.
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Nobody uses Delphi anymore, except in self defense. Most widely used languages are:

1. C
2. Java
3. PHP
4. JavaScript
5. C++
6. Python

SOURCE: http://langpop.com/

I personally love C/C++, but they're not easy to learn. PHP is an inconsistent mess and encourages bad coding practices. Java is widely used and easy to learn. Python is even easier. Both are free.

So teach Java and/or Python. IMHO Java is a "safer" bet because it has been widely used for a longer time and it appears to be much more widely used in SA.

/THREAD

EDIT: I sort of skipped JavaScript. Mainly because it's syntactically so dissimilar to everything else. At least if you know Java, C, C++, C# and even Python (the latter, to a lesser extent) will look somewhat familiar.
 
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Solitude said:
I take it you aren't a programmer? Or work anywhere near the software development field?

Can you please explain to us these "fields of programming" where Delphi is used where the other languages aren't?
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++

As a software engineer who has only been in the industry for half a decade, the only places I have seen or heard of Delphi "in the wild", are in legacy software support contracts (mainly government projects).
 
You guys waste your time with Swa. Remember this the same guy that says a certificate is better than a degree.
 
There is already a problem if this is being viewed as some of job training. Someone who cannot transition to another language is ultimately doomed.
 
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